Monday 28th July - Abbey arrives home at Owen Springs!!

Well we've had the BIGGEST week of our lives so far and are now at home at Owen Springs. Abbey will be 1 week old tonight at 11.36pm!! Thanks to everyone who sent their best wishes and for all the phone calls to say congratulations.

Mum arrives on Thursday to lend a hand and to meet her brand new Grandaughter. We've come a long way in the last week and we think Abbey is just perfect. Can't wait for you all to meet her soon... In the meantime here are some more photos to keep you updated!!

Say hello to our newest family member, Abbey!

Hi everyone, just a really quick blog, Kylie gave birth to a healthy girl on Monday night, Abbey Lynne Cowan. She did great, and both mum and baby are doing well. Here are a few quick pics, more to come no doubt!!

Only 2 weeks (?) to go until a life changing arrival

Well as much as I hate this photo and am embarrased to show it, here is a photo of me at 38 weeks pregnant. Looking pretty damn big all over really!

Finding it really weird to go from very busy full time work to maternity leave, but trying to savour the time while I have it. It's been good for getting that last bit of preparation done.

Everything seems to be going well but we'd still like the baby to arrive a week early... We're a bit too excited and impatient for it to be a week late!

Well this will be the last 'pregnancy posting' until the baby arrives - we'll be a mum and dad in the next photo you see!! How scary!

Week 34

Hi everyone, Kylie is now 34 weeks pregnant and feeling pretty good. Apparently the baby now has fingernails, and is working on getting its lungs up to capacity, as well as putting on as much fat as possible. Sounds like me at morning tea time! We don't have much news at the moment - I bought an old trailer last week that I am going to fix up (probably only interesting to me). We had a farewell dinner for our best friends on Saturday night. It is pretty sad that they are leaving town, back to the U.S, and we will miss them heaps. More to follow next time.....

30 weeks and counting down

Well we're nearly into the single figure count down. Pretty amazing how quickly the time is passing at the moment... I hope the baby doesn't come early because I have way too much work to do! (at work and at home).

Everything is going pretty smoothly apart from my nasty cold. The baby is starting to kick harder and watching my stomach move around is like watching..... hmmm not really sure how to describe it but I guess it's like watching another human moving around on your insides funnily enough :) Freaky stuff. Such a miracle though.

My sister Stacey's first baby was born at 32 weeks! Hopefully ours waits a bit longer, although some days we're so excited that we'd like to meet it (her for all of you who haven't been told!) straight away.

Antenatal class all day on Saturday which will be a bit of an eye opener for both Phil and I to say the least.

Heritage Night

On Thursday night, Parks and Wildlife staged another successful Heritage Night at the Alice Springs Telegraph Station. It was a good turnout and a fun night. We went to the Dawn Service on Anzac Hill, but they forgot to sing the national anthem - at least I think they fogot??? Anyway, I don't think anyone actually cared, how very Australian!

27 weeks and kicking goals

Hi there,

Kylie is 27 and a bit weeks today - here is another pic for you. All is well with us at the moment, and we will keep you posted on how things are going later. We have a new email address by the way - philandkylie8@bigpond.com and we obviosuly still use our work addresses. I thought I should add a photo of me in France last year, at the Courcellete cemetery in the Somme. I am beside the grave of a distant relative, Robert Hair, who died during the attack on Mouquet Farm (near Pozieres). 11,000 men were killed, wounded or went missing in 1 month, to take 1.5 miles of front. Pretty amazing stuff, happy Anzac Day. Talk soon, Phil, Kylie, Harry, Lucy and 2 thirds baby...

24 Week Belly

Me, Maia, Lyndon, Karina and Rachel in Jay Creek (about 5 minutes up the track from our house) having drinks and nibblies with the mozzies

Me at 24 weeks - 16 more weeks (?!) of growing left to do

Happy dogs
Happy gardener

Not so happy bovine

Hi there everyone, just an update on the old blog for you. Kylie is doing very well - on Sunday she will be 23 weeks, so we are getting there slowly. Kylie's mum, Sue, is staying with us at the moment. It is a good chance to catch up before chaos hits our quiet little lives in a few months time. By the way, the book I quoted from in the last post was intended to be funny. Apologies to anyone without a sense of humour (ie: my brother Dave!). The dogs (our first and most important children) are doing well and are looking forward to meeting the new baby, or maybe they saw the photo above of all that lovely cow meat. You don't need to buy expensive meat at the supermarket when you have fresh meat right in front of your eyes (or .308 scope, whatever the case may be...). Also, Kylie has made me put a photo of my vegetable garden triumph!!! How big are those zucchinis?? Talk to you all later, Phil & Kylie.

Kylie - 19 weeks

Kylie - 21 weeks

Parks & Wildlife high level meeting

All is going well with Kylie and the baby - as you can see she is starting to show pretty well now. We are playing the waiting game from here on out, and I am trying to read up on what my role (the dad!) will be throughout this whole event (hopefully not passing out or anthying like that). Here is some advise I have been reading on what not to say during labour:

Wow, look at all that blood!
Boy! I'm glad I'm not you right now!
Can you be a bit more quiet? You're embarrassing me
Did you turn the stove off?
Hey, is that supposed to happen?

I think I would be a dead man if I utter anything of that nature - and fair enough too! Apologies for the lateness of photos, our blog was experiencing some technical difficulties (ie: it wasn't working). In other news, I have just got back from a work trip to Katherine which was lots of fun - and hard work.... See above for a picture of my serious work colleauges at the classic road side stop, mmmmmmm. Talk to everyone soon, Phil, Kylie, Harry & Lucy

Our first baby photos

Well I know that this isn't everyones cup of tea but here are some photos of our ultrasound. Phil was 10x better than me at seeing the different bits and pieces!

This is the baby's hand and forearm

This is a profile shot of the baby (head/face and shoulders)

It's alive

Kylie and I had our scan on Monday. It was a pretty amazing experience to see the baby's hands and feet and face and everything else for that matter! It has brought the reality home alot more, and was fantastic to see our baby for the very first time. I will post some pictures in the coming days, stay tuned.....

Finally some rain!!

My nephew Elliot on his very first day of school.... Check out the size of his backpack!! He caught the school bus from out the front of his house - I'm soooo proud, excited and nervous for him!

Downstream from the road

The road into our house. The dogs LOVED the water and Lucy had her 2nd ever swim.

Me standing in the raging torrent (and our friend's dog Kaia)

Well it's always exciting to get some rain out at Owen Springs and yesterday arvo it finally arrived. Our neighbour Ben rode home on his motorbike and had to push his bike through some creeklines, but when he got to this river it was bone dry.... an hour later I came home and the Hugh River was flowing! Our car got it's first taste of river crossings, slippery mud and big puddles - Phil was very jealous that I was driving!!

On a different note, I had a midwives appointment yesterday and all is well. Got to hear the heartbeat again which is going strong - probably the most reassuring sound for a 1st time nervous mum to be I think!!

The family wagon

Hi there everyone. Kylie is doing well at the moment - 13 weeks gone by and counting! We thought we better buy a family wagon if we are going to have a family, so here it is! In truth, I have always wanted a Ford Territory, so the family thing is just an excuse really. Apart from that, all is going well. We are finding the days a bit hot, but we must be getting somewhat used to it, as it doesn't feel as bad as it once did (above 40 degrees, that is). Talk to you all later, Phil & Kylie

SOME BIG NEWS

Hi all, we have some exciting news that we are glad to finally let everyone know about. Kylie is pregnant (12 weeks) and we are expecting on the 21st July! It has been hard work to keep things a secret, and Kylie has been sick on and off for a while now (really sick while we were on holidays unfortunately), so it is a relief to explain to those who hadn't guessed our news already. We have bought a family friendly car, so we are well on the way to becoming a Mum and Dad!! We have both seen its heart in an ultra sound, and Kylie heard its heart beat last week, so it is definitly happening. I'm hoping for a boy, but clearly will not care either way, and we want it to be a suprise on the day. Anyway, we will update you as more news comes to hand....

Wildlife Watch

Kylie & I had some unexpected guests at work today. They were actually from a group of 6 released onto Owen Springs last week and have found their way back to the houses. Luckily the dogs were more puzzled at their appearance rather than thinking it was time for lunch!

Weddings, parties, anything

Stacey
Kylie
Phil, Kylie, Nath, Mum, Nathan, Stacey, Nan, Phil & Jo
Kylie, Grandpa, Aunty Margaret, Uncle Ivan, Aunty Molly, Stacey
Kylie & her niece Chelsea

Stacey & Nathan got married on Saturday, it all went well and Stacey looked amazing in her dress. It was great to catch up with the family during the week, and especially good to see some people from WA that Phil hadn't met before. We are now in Albury catching up with Mum and Dad until the end of the week, when we return to Alice Springs. Talk soon.

Mighty Movember

Recently I used the wafer thin excuse to grow a mo because it is Movember. Some friends and I thought we would look cool (as proven by the pic below...) but I really didn't like the Mo anyway, so I shaved it off pretty quickly. We are currently in Bendigo for Kylie's sister Stacy and her fiance (better half - he said) Nathan, for their wedding and the christening of their second child Chelsea. We are back in Alice at the start of December, ready for the heat of summer. Talk to you all soon, love Phil & Kylie

Home from Europe

Well, we survived our trip, although not sure how we survived the 150km/hour taxi ride to the airport from Rome asthe driver was talking on 2 phones at once, writing notes in his diary, and changing lanes more often than Italy changes its governments! As Obelix would say, "these Italian's are crazy". We are really glad to be home again to the dust of Owen Springs, and we had a great time throughout the holiday. Plus I get the added bonus of being home in time for the AFL grandfinal, go Cats! See you all soon, Phil and Kylie.

Photos (top to bottom): Mum, myself and Dad in the Cotswolds

Villers Bretonneux Cemetry, the Somme

Paris, Eiffel Tower

Arc de Triumph

Kylie on the Eiffel Tower

Vienna

Street scene, Florence

Cable car, Switzerland

Typical view of Switzerland

Lifestles of the rich and famous in Capri, Italy